Schools fight to keep up with demand

Sydney
21 July 2002

Changing face of Pope’s soldiers

Vinnies SOS for cash to fight gambling ills

Priest’s anniversary wish – that more young men take up cloth

Simon’s still in need of a home

Excitement as pilgrims are blessed

Politics and prayers

International court is ‘crucial’ for East Timor

The icon of Our Lady of Kazan

Amnesty condemns attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers

Church unity theme for cardinal at Ryde mayor’s prayer breakfast

Aust gifts set charity record

Danger if teens are ‘running on empty’

Editorial: Romance in marriage

Letters: Jesus is the centre, not the clergy

Conversation: ‘Unreal’ love? Not if your love is real - Anne and Peter McGowan, family delegates

Reflections: Hunger – righting an imbalance

Becoming Catholic ‘a turning point’

Opinion: A return to the genuine ‘good old days’?

Schools fight to keep up with demand

Chaldean leader blesses new church

Helping hand for Sydney pilgrims

‘Big kids’ in new role as Seniors

Inspirations: Students rally to Winter Appeal

Schools fight to keep up with demand

Br Kelvin Canavan and Bishop Geoffrey Robinson with students from Holy Spirit School, Carnes Hill

Some schools on the outer edges of Sydney are finding it impossible to keep up with the demand by Catholic families for places in their schools.

That was the message delivered to the governing body for Sydney’s 150 systemic Catholic schools on a tour of Sydney’s southwest.

With the cost of housing cheaper in Sydney’s west, many young families are moving out to areas such as Liverpool and Fairfield.

And with the population in those areas growing rapidly, Catholic schools are struggling to meet the demands of parents seeking a Catholic education for their kids.

In Liverpool and Fairfield, 37 per cent of the population is Catholic – 10 per cent higher than the national average.

And 22 per cent of kids in those areas go to Catholic schools.

Therein lies the problem that quickly needs to be addressed.

“It’s part of an on-going struggle and at the moment we can’t accommodate all the kids in those areas who want to go to a Catholic school,” says Br Kelvin Canavan, executive director of schools in the Sydney archdiocese.

“It’s a tremendous struggle for these communities and they need capital support from the government.

“There’s tremendous excitement with new families moving into the area, so it’s important for the Catholic Church to meet their requirements.”

These sentiments are echoed by Michael Addicoat, principal of Freeman Catholic College, Bonnyrigg, who says there have been 298 applications from Catholic families for the 215 places on offer for the Year 7 intake for 2003.

“This means that we have to turn away 83 Catholic students, and hope to find them places in neighbouring Catholic schools,” he says.

“We urgently need to find ways to accommodate all the Catholic students who want to attend Catholic schools in this rapidly growing area.”

Apart from finding places for students, the lack of teachers seeking employment in the south-west is also a major concern.

Michele King, principal of John the Baptist Primary School, Bonnyrigg, says something needs to be done to attract quality teachers to the Catholic schools in the western suburbs.

“With the growing national teacher shortage, it is increasingly difficult to attract suitably qualified staff,” she said.

“This is even more of a problem for schools in the outer western suburbs, which are seen by many people to be less attractive places to live and work.”

In a jam-packed day, members of the Sydney Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Board visited eight schools, most of them in or close to the City of Fairfield.

They also inspected the planned site for a new secondary school at West Hoxton Park.

Four representatives of the Federation of Parents and Friends were also invited on the tour, recognising the prime importance of parents in almost every aspect of the educative process.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, chairman of the archdiocesan schools board, says that having first-hand knowledge of the schools, the staff and the students themselves is essential if board members are to make decisions with the best possible outcomes.

“Decisions we need to make from time to time – such as school amalgamations, closures and starting new schools – affect people’s lives in major ways. It’s most important to get them right,” he says.

At Bankstown, the principal of La Salle Catholic College, Br Ambrose Payne, briefed board members on the progress that has been made since the school was formed in 1999 after a controversial amalgamation.

He also spoke about the emphasis being placed on solid teaching and learning and explained how high support programs for the students were already producing better outcomes.

Joyce Lyster, principal since 1995 of St Felix’s Primary, Bankstown, invited board members into the classrooms to observe teaching and learning in practice, particularly the literacy programs that are crucial for the students from so many cultural backgrounds.

At Sacred Heart School, Villawood, board members inspected the site for classrooms planned to begin construction next year, costing more than $4 million.

The principal, Tony Davison, told the touring party that many of his students started school speaking little or no English.

“The major ethnic group is Vietnamese, and the families and children see the school as a safe haven and a happy place,” he says.

“The school is like an oasis, with a staff who love teaching these wonderful children.”

Sacred Heart Primary School at Cabramatta is also seen as an oasis.

“It’s an exciting time for us here at the moment,” says principal Sybil Dickens, “with newly-built classrooms and a library about to be opened and blessed by Archbishop Pell.”

At Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Mt Pritchard – one of the largest primary schools in the archdiocese with more than 800 students – board members again visited the classrooms to observe the students’ learning.

The school will celebrate its 50th anniversary later this year.

The principal, Sr Gaye Reynolds, spoke of the progress her students were making with their reading and in the Basic Skills Test.

She also commented on the generosity of the local community when it came to raising money for appeals such as Project Compassion and the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The final stop was at Holy Spirit Primary School at Carnes Hill, which opened its doors for the first time in January this year.

The first intake in Kindergarten to Year 2 was just 42 students.

Tony Lo Cascio, the foundation principal, sees himself, the staff and the inaugural students as ‘educational pioneers’ on the growing edge of Sydney. “This is a new school, in a new parish, in a new community – which makes it very special.”

He enthusiastically showed the board members an architect’s model of impressive classrooms and facilities that will eventually be built.

He explained that there were many hurdles to overcome in the meantime, such as getting Council permission and obtaining funding from the federal government and local sources.